The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Wait, Lord Iskandar, what did you say?!" Upon hearing the archaeologist's reply, Admiral Rissheimer was clearly taken aback. "You've already deployed that weapon?"

"Yes, the specific time was seven days ago—at that time, the number of reports regarding the activities of autonomous weapon clusters and deliberate attacks on humans exceeded the threshold I had previously set. Therefore, I judged that the time was ripe and ordered the immediate activation of the pre-prepared 'Response Measure 1'."

"Wait, if I remember correctly, the excavation of the 'Forbidden Land' should still be in the preparatory stage," the emperor asked. "How did you obtain these weapons? Why didn't we know about them?"

"Forgive my frankness, Your Majesty, but what we unearthed in the 'Forbidden Land' is, to be precise, a more powerful 'second stage,' or 'advanced stage,' capable of stopping the evil ambitions of the old humanity in one fell swoop," Iskandar Lomonosov replied. "What I am currently using is the 'first stage,' which I discovered myself earlier."

"Hmm, is that so?"

“Yes, in ‘Phase One,’ my ‘weapon’ is less powerful, but it’s sufficient for testing against the small groups of enemies that have appeared so far,” the archaeologist nodded. “If the test results meet expectations, it means that ‘Phase Two,’ which we plan to excavate in the Duchy of Fayun, will be enough to save all of humanity and completely end the threat.”

"Then I will immediately expedite preparations and strive to begin formal excavation work within three months," General Rissmer said. "In that case..."

"No," Iskandar Lomonosov replied. "I can only give you another thirty days to prepare."

"But Your Excellency..."

"Thirty days, not three months, do you understand?" Although nominally just an "advisor" to the prime minister, chairman of the regency council, and army general of this principality, Iskandar Lomonosov spoke to Rissimmer with no restraint, using the tone of a subordinate in command. "I will not accept any reasons."

"...Yes, sir." General Rissem paused for a moment, then said, "I will speak with the members of the Regency Council tomorrow and seek their approval to use the emergency funds from the national treasury. That should be sufficient..."

"No need for discussion, issue the order directly," the archaeologist of technology said, crossing her slender arms over her chest. "We are currently facing a potential threat affecting all of humanity on Earth; it is the highest level of emergency for our race and civilization. If not now, when?"

"Yes..." Rissmer looked down at his feet, not daring to utter another sound.

"However, Your Majesty," the Emperor said, "a report received by the Imperial General Staff from the Garrison Command of the North End mentions that some troops at the front have encountered enemies other than autonomous weapons. These enemies are biological entities, to be precise, parasitic organisms that inhabit and significantly modify animals and even humans..."

“I know that. The fact that these reports are starting to appear in large numbers means that my actions initiating ‘Phase One’ are beginning to have an effect,” Iskandar Lomonosov thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s a good thing.”

"Since that's the case..."

"However, please order the relevant departments to strictly control the information. Whether it is about the old humans or my 'weapons'—when making public announcements, you can claim that an 'accidental loss of control' of autonomous weapons and synthetic beasts from the old civilization era occurred in the North End, thus causing an emergency. Furthermore, I do not want to hear any other explanation."

"I will find a way," Anthemius III said, his brow still furrowed. "Then, what about the armies and civilians who have already encountered your 'weapons'? Reports claim they are indiscriminately fighting autonomous weapons, wild synthetic beasts, forest bandits, and our troops appearing everywhere, seemingly without distinguishing friend from foe!"

"oh."

"The question is, can we really use such an uncontrollable 'weapon' with peace of mind?!"

"In the 'first phase,' this is normal. But rest assured, in this phase, although my 'weapon' is uncontrollable and has limited combat efficiency, it is also self-limiting and will not go out of control," the archaeologist of technology replied. "In short, after achieving its goal or expanding to a certain extent, it will gradually cease to function."

"So what should we do?" General Rissmer asked.

"Immediately order all frontline units, especially regular ground forces, to withdraw as quickly as possible from the locations where my activated 'weapons' are operating, to prevent unnecessary conflict. At the same time, conduct observation and recording as much as possible without making contact."

"But what if this conflict has already occurred?"

"Then hand these people over to my 'weapons,' and they will be... properly dealt with," the archaeologist of technology waved his hand. "To avoid panic and chaos, all relevant information must not be disclosed at this time. The search for the Old Humans should also be conducted without revealing their true purpose. We must minimize witnesses and sources of information that could cause trouble. Remember, all of this is for the greater good of our race and civilization."

"Indeed, necessary sacrifices are always unavoidable," the emperor said softly, his face filled with melancholy, after another moment of silence. Then, the holographic image projected from the top of the triangular pyramid swayed and disappeared.

Ten days later, in the southern part of the Anadel-8 colony, at the temporary refugee camp R-2, the headquarters of the security forces.

"That's enough! I can do it myself..."

"Please don't move around, and don't resist us."

"But...but...that area is very sensitive. I...ah...no..."

"I'm sorry, sir, but you have no choice now. Please cooperate with us."

"Waaah... sob sob sob..."

After gritting his teeth and letting out a groan, Fish, whose face was flushed and who was panting heavily—of course, to most uninformed people, he was now Moon Butterfly—had his last piece of underwear removed, and he returned to the state he was in when he was just born.

Of course, this scene wasn't particularly strange in front of the steaming bathtub. The only problem was that Ange's head female officer, Mint, and her two loyal female subordinates were also there, and they showed no intention of making way for her: just moments ago, it was Xiao Luo and Peanut who had forcefully stripped Fish of all his clothes and prepared hot water for him.

But this is not the end.

"I...I...I can take a shower by myself! Please don't..."

“No, Your Excellency Fish,” Mint shook her head. “It was Her Excellency Ange’s consent. We will serve you a bath today, and this is part of your adaptation to aristocratic life.”

"But, from the perspective of public order and good morals... a man and a woman alone together in the bath..." Fish muttered, his face flushed, as he was being dragged naked into the bathtub by two maids under Mint's command.

"That's no problem at all," Mint replied instantly, while reaching out to poke Fish's breasts. "First of all, you are technically a woman now, so there's no such thing as a 'single man and woman' being alone together in the shower."

"Meow!" Fish shuddered. The absolute mass of Moon Butterfly's fat was likely greater than the combined mass of Xiaoxing, Anjie, and Shuangye. Unfortunately, even after using this body for over a week, he still couldn't see himself as a real woman, nor could he immediately discern the value of these two things.

After all, Huang Yan had already told Fish in the previous physiology class that the fat inside those fat globules didn't actually serve any essential function. In the past few days, Fish had fully experienced the terrible feeling of being hampered by those two lumps of fat, which affected his balance and made movement difficult. In his opinion, apart from providing extra energy when supplies were scarce, those two things were completely useless.

What's worse is that while Xiaoxing and Shuangye are alright, Anjie and her subordinates seem to be very interested in these two. They take every opportunity to tease them.

"Secondly, as nobles, the concept of 'public order and good morals' needs to be subtly modified. Hmm, what was that term in the old civilization era? Right, 'change of common sense,' something like that," Mint continued. "Nobles should accept the service of their servants and attendants with equanimity."

"But I'm not some nobleman..." Fish muttered.

“Yes, but your future is already set—once Princess Ange regains her legal rights and status in the Duchy of Fayun and finds out what exactly happened, I will begin arranging your wedding,” Ange’s head lady-in-waiting said, taking out a bar of soap and starting to lather it on Fish. “Don’t you have confidence in Her Highness’s ability to reclaim the country?”

"Meow? Of course not! I'm 250% confident she can do it!"

"Very good. Once we reclaim the Duchy of Fayun and arrange a formal wedding for you and Princess Ange, according to the agreement you and Princess Ange previously signed, you will be the next Grand Duke of Fayun, the fourth-ranked monarch in the empire."

"Yes, second only to the Duke of Yunzhou and the Duke of Penglai..." Fish bit his lip, trying hard to avoid moaning from the sensation caused by the touch on his sensitive areas.

Although Mint claimed to have undergone highly professional training and assessment, ensuring her client would never be uncomfortable, unfortunately, Fish hadn't yet adapted to this body. One of the side effects was that the stimulation of those specific sensitive spots was somewhat...unexpected.

"In short, as a nobleman, especially the most esteemed monarch, you should learn to ignore us servants and attendants and accept our service naturally," Mint said. As she spoke, Little Luo and Peanut brought soft silk scarves and natural sponges and began to groom Fish's nearly meter-long black hair, gently washing his limbs. "In short, you should politely ignore us in formal settings and treat servants as tools rather than people."

"Uh, this..." Fish bit his lip nervously—admittedly, he had already heard many stories about aristocratic society in the bars of Oasis City, and he was already familiar with what Mint had mentioned. However, knowing about it didn't mean he could do it so easily.

After all, other unfamiliar servants were one thing, but in Fish's eyes, Mint and her two old subordinates were members of his team who had gone through thick and thin together. Even if they were to become some kind of Grand Duke of Fayun in the future, it would still be difficult for Fish to see them as servants or even tools.

And so, Fish, his face flushed and teeth clenched, spent over an hour bathing as if being tortured, with the help of the three men. Then he returned to Yue Die's usual office as the security commander—as expected, Ange was already there waiting for him.

"Ah, you look wonderful, my dear husband," Ange clapped her hands after seeing Fish. "Every day, I discover new charm in you."

"Um... don't say that," Fish's face was as red as a fully ripe red bell pepper, his eyes fixed on his feet, "considering the body I'm in now, it makes me feel a little... strange that you're saying that."

"Oh, it's alright. Although Princess Yuedie does have her share of problems, after our recent interactions, I believe she actually has the potential to become an outstanding noblewoman," Ange walked to Fish's side, reaching out to cup a strand of his hair and gently inhale the fragrance emanating from it. "She simply suffered some negative impacts during her childhood due to the internal power struggles within her family, leaving her with psychological scars, but..."

"but?"

"However, there is no shadow that the sunlight of pure love cannot dispel," Ange chuckled, "and I am confident that I can do that."

"Meow...that...is really...so...so...great..." Fish, who had just finished showering, couldn't help but start sweating again.

Fish had quite a good taste of Ange's "pure love" these past few days—when she was still using a male body, Ange, due to her noble reserve, had always maintained a respectful distance from him. Even though they were nominally engaged, she had never done anything like a night raid.

However, after the unexpected body swap, the situation changed drastically: almost every night, Ange would come to Fish's bed under various pretexts, from "it's too cold in bed" to "it's too lonely at night," and while "whispering," she would touch him inappropriately.

Of course, according to Anjie, there's absolutely no problem with doing this. After all, there's nothing to be ashamed of about a platonic relationship between girls.

Judging from her skillful flirting techniques, Fish suspected that this princess was probably already adept at this.

Of course, although Fish was always left blushing, Ange at least maintained her boundaries and didn't do anything truly excessive to him. Yuedie, however, who was forced to use Xiaoxing's body, wasn't so lucky: for most of the day, Ange, under the guise of "reforming" her, would hold Xiaoxing's body in her arms, playing with it like a life-sized doll or pillow. More than once, Fish saw Yuedie panting heavily and drenched in sweat in Ange's arms.

However, at least to some extent, Ange's approach was indeed effective. In these days, Yuedie's hostility towards them decreased significantly, and her attitude softened considerably. The only unlucky one was Xiaoxing—to avoid the embarrassing sight of Ange treating her body like a doll, she, using Fish's body, had to frequently go out on duty and wouldn't return to headquarters until very late.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time on small talk," Ange said. "My lord, please allow me to begin today's briefing—there's a lot of important news this time."

Exclusive! An exclusive interview with Sokhov and behind-the-scenes look at the creation of "The Last Odyssey: The Cat Boy's Fantastic Journey," available only to those who wish to participate.